For many fans of the late Chadwick Boseman, his Oscar loss left a bad taste in my mouth—not because of the loss itself, but because of the seemingly manipulative way it all played out.
However, according to TMZ, Chadwick’s brother Derrick has confirmed that he doesn’t consider the fact that Chadwick lost the Best Actor race at the 93rd Academy Awards to be a snub and assures us the family isn’t upset about it.
TMZ reports:
Chadwick’s brother, Derrick Boseman, tells TMZ ... he doesn’t view Chadwick not winning an Oscar for Best Actor as a snub because every nominated actor was excellent and deserving of the award. He says the family isn’t upset or agitated whatsoever that Chadwick’s name wasn’t called at the end of the Oscars ceremony
What’s more ... Derrick tells us the family wishes Hopkins and his family all the best because, as Derrick put it, “I’m sure [Anthony Hopkins] would if Chad won.”
Derrick’s shout-out to Best Actor winner Hopkins was in response to the elder actor’s classy acceptance speech in which he paid tribute to the late Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom actor on social media. Derrick went on to say that his brother never placed the Oscars on a pedestal anyway and said Chadwick “always described them to [him] as a campaign,” which seems on brand with Chadwick’s genuine dedication to the art and craft of acting.
Though the Oscar shenanigans upset me (and I thought his widow, Mrs. Simone Ledward Boseman deserved better), I ultimately respect the wishes of his family and I’m glad they are at peace with everything.
Additionally, ABC producer Rob Mills recently gave Variety the scoop on the 2021 Oscars production, confirming that producers don’t know the Oscar winners beforehand. He also noted that not only was the order of the last three awards shuffled around (Best Picture first, followed by Best Actress and Best Actor), but so were earlier categories such as Best Screenplay (Adapted and Original) and Best Director. That said, Mills’ statement didn’t directly address the Boseman upset and was mainly centered around the fact that Hopkins wasn’t in-person at the ceremony, despite the Academy’s preference for nominees to be present. Reportedly, Hopkins—who is 83 years old and lives in Wales, U.K.—understandably didn’t want to risk coronavirus exposure by traveling to the London hub, which was one of the Academy’s approved locations outside of Los Angeles to film the ceremony.
“It was not meant to end on somebody who was not present,” Mills said. “It was a calculated risk, that I think still paid off because everybody was talking about it. Similarly, nobody wants the wrong envelope to happen, like it did three years ago, but everyone was talking about it. I think some people thought maybe they missed some awards. ‘Why is Best Picture early?’ or, ‘What’s happening, this is crazy,’ almost like, ‘How can this possibly happen? Best picture has to end it!’ Some people were upset, some people loved it and that was really the point that there was no apathy.”
Overall, we continue to send our well wishes to Mrs. Boseman and the rest of the Boseman family.